 He fought in the Winter War for Finland and was a member of the Scots Guards 5th Battalion who were trained in skiing.On his return he was posted to GHQ in France but was immediately caught up in the evacuation of Dunkirk where he was mentioned in despatches (he managed to get back to Britain on 1 June 1940).He was then trained as a parachutist, and became the first person to be issued with the Royal Aero Club Parachutist Certificate.